170 — A Fever Dream III

Eun Ha's POV:

"Besides, I'd rather risk a cold than leave you alone up here."

He settled more comfortably beside her, adjusting the pillows behind her back with surprising gentleness.

Eun Ha found herself leaning into his touch despite the warning bells still clanging in the back of her fever-addled mind.

"You know..." She began, attempting to shift the atmosphere away from whatever uncomfortable direction it was heading. "... when you were little, you never let anyone help you with anything. You insisted on feeding yourself from the moment you could hold a spoon."

A faint smile graced Jae-il's lips. "Some things don't change." He replied smoothly, picking up the empty plate and juice glass. "But some things do."

"Yes..." Eun Ha sank back, letting out a weary sigh, feeling a little more alive from the juice. A few more moments and she was certain the fatigue would catch up to her, however. "Things really... do."

"Everything okay? More tired again?"

"A little, yes." Eun Ha's voice trembled ever so slightly. She tugged the blankets around her, seeking a false security in the warmth. "But I'm not really sleepy, or in the mood to sleep again..."

Jae-il sat beside her, quiet.

She peered through her damp hair, making a feeble attempt to tame it, if not put it to something better use than a dishevelled mess. Still, though, she could see the steady movement of her son's hand as it glided through the tangled and dark brown strands of her hair.

Eun Ha stilled involuntarily, her breath jamming painfully in her throat.

His fingers combed through her hair, slowly, methodically, detangling the knots with a patience and dexterity that sent goosebumps dancing over Eun Ha's skin.

"J-Jae-il... don't..." She protested weakly, though she didn't move an inch away from his ministrations.

He rolled his eyes. "Would it kill you to stop fussing for five minutes? It's just a haircare."

"Only if you keep that up..." Eun Ha whispered, her lips barely parting, the feverish sweat on her brow seeming to intensify with his close proximity. She tried to shift away, but her weakened arms felt as limp as cooked noodles. "You're making it more difficult for me... to breathe."

Jae-il paused, his fingers still tangled in the strands of her hair. He tilted his head, his purple eyes filled with nothing but calm concern—or was it something deeper she couldn't quite parse through the fever haze? Maybe she was looking too much into it. "I'll stop then." He said softly, withdrawing his hand and leaning back slightly.

The absence of his touch sent an unexpected chill through her. "Wait." She breathed out, before she could think better of it. "No, I... your hair combing, it's not what's making me..."

Jae-il's raised eyebrow told her he was waiting for her explanation.

"I haven't... showered yet..." She finished lamely, pulling the blankets tighter around herself as if they could serve as a barrier. "That's all."

They sat in heavy silence, save for the faint hum from the television, which was currently showing some comedy special that neither was watching.

"We used to watch movies together, remember?" Jae-il finally broke the quiet, his voice almost mournful. "Your sci-fi marathons. The old romantic comedies you'd force me to sit through because you didn't want to watch them alone."

Despite her illness, a small smile touched her lips at the memory. She could almost smell the bowl of popcorn they'd share, Mia grumpily taking the biggest handfuls, Su Ah studiously separating unpopped kernels.

Simpler times.

"I haven't had anyone appreciate my refined taste in cinema in years." Eun Ha admitted, the slightest flush coloring her cheeks. "Your sisters only want to watch... whatever's popular now."

His steady gaze held hers before he slid off the bed and moved toward the small dresser by the door. From there, he retrieved Eun Ha's laptop. "Then how about... one night, just us? Nowadays we rarely have the time... and well, I did promise you once that I'd like to take you out to see a movie, right? Things got kind of erratic since then, and you're sick right now."

He settled back on a chair he'd pulled close, opening the screen to reveal a familiar streaming service. Eun Ha watched as he typed in her mother's long-time username with uncanny familiarity—her beloved, silly nickname MovieLuvrMama_" flashed briefly as the system logged in.

"That username..." She murmured, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks despite the fever. "Remember how I said online anonymity makes people honest? It's also ridiculous looking now."

Jae-il grinned without looking away from the screen. "Nah, I think it's perfect. At least when I see that pop-up, I know the recommendations will involve spaceships, not rom-coms about girls who discover they're secret princesses."

"And what's wrong with discovering you're a secret princess?" Eun Ha retorted weakly, her voice still hoarse but gaining a teasing edge.

"Nothing. If they actually had lasers in tiaras..." He navigated to the saved list where row after row of vintage film posters displayed. Eun Ha noticed the categories remained exactly how she'd organized them years ago.

"Saturdays Scaries", "Space Opera Sundays", "Monday Mysteries", and…  "Wednesday Weepsies for When Nobody Sees".

That last one...

"......"

Eun Ha kind of shrunk further into the sheets when she saw that particular column, as she always did whenever her penchant for sad movies was mentioned. "Not every movie I pick can have explosions or laser beams." She mumbled. "And besides, a good cry feels nice... once in a while..."

"Not judging." Jae-il clicked through categories with amusement. "You have more organization than a library database here. Damn."

"It's important cultural sorting." She insisted, trying to sit up straight but failing against his gentle push with a firm pillow. "Wait! That one! Did they ever add 'Stellar Odyssey IV' after I complained?" She pointed with a trembling finger.

Scanning the listings, his expression shifted from amusement to concentration. "Aha. Special anniversary edition with deleted scenes just uploaded last month. This one has an alternate ending… the ratings are a bit mixed…"

He frowned, tilting his head.

Eun Ha's eyes lit up with a feverish excitement that momentarily overpowered her sickness. "Put it on! Oh, I've been waiting ages for this."

Jae-il nodded and clicked play, leaning back in his chair as the familiar galactic credits scrolled across the screen.

In her enthusiasm, her body had overcome the exhaustion it'd struggled with only a moment earlier and made itself comfortable in her nest of blankets, leaning forward against a stack of cushions as her feverish eyes focused on the images.

There was still a slight burning sensation in her body and a tingling of nerves, but the thrill of seeing a favorite movie and sharing it with someone she trusted far outweighed those inconvenient symptoms.

In fact, even the thought that Jae-il, the object of her more recent quandaries, was sitting right next to her, faded from her mind as the starships soared across the screen.

The movie was mostly as she remembered, though a rewatch was something she'd always welcome, especially if it had special scenes included.

Jae-il seemed to be quite into it, not having said a word for over half an hour.

As the movie progressed, the ship's captain delivered a passionate monologue about duty and sacrifice.

The heroic music swelled dramatically in the background.

Eun Ha sniffled quietly. Not a loud sob, but a delicate, moisture-filled sniffle.

She felt Jae-il's gaze shift from the screen to her face.

"......"

She sniffled again, fumbling for a tissue. Her fever made the emotional beats of the film hit twice as hard. On the screen, the young commander, Kael, stood on the bridge of his crumbling starship, looking at the holographic image of the Empress who had guided him through the entire war.

"He's going to do it, isn't he?" Eun Ha whispered, her voice thick. "He's going to sacrifice the fleet for her."

Jae-il leaned back, his shoulder brushing against the side of her arm. "He's a simp, mom. He should've fired the ion cannons ten minutes ago."

Eun Ha gave a weak, indignant huff, dabbing at her eyes. "It's not 'simping,' Jae-il. It's devotion. She was the only one who believed in him when he was just a scavenger on the rim. She's his North Star." She said, self-righteously.

"She's also about twenty years older than him." Jae-il pointed out, though his tone was playful. He adjusted the blanket that was slipping off Eun Ha's lap, his fingers lingering for a second against the fabric. "It's a bit of a gap, don't you think?"

"Age is just a number in deep space." Eun Ha retorted, so profound and wise, all of a sudden. He raised an eyebrow. "What? It is!"

"If you say so."

Then, the movie reached the climax. It was about to end, too.

Kael finally breached the Empress's inner sanctum. The music slowly transitioned to fit the scene.

The Empress turned around, her regal mask falling away to reveal a face lined with sorrow and a strange, haunting familiarity.

"You found the truth." The Empress said on screen. "In the archives of the Old Republic."

Kael's hands trembled. "The DNA markers... the deleted records. Why didn't you tell me? Why?!"

Eun Ha leaned forward, locked in, her brow furrowing. "Wait, I don't remember this part from the original cut. What archives?"

Jae-il shrugged, as lost as she was.

On screen, the Empress walked toward Kael. She reached out, her fingers tracing his cheekbones. Kael bit his bottom lip and begrudgingly leaned into it.

"I sent you across the rift to save you from the Great Collapse." She whispered. "I didn't have any options, Kael. I didn't want it come to this, but it was all to keep you safe. I watched you grow from a distance, through the monitors, through the years… the truth is that you're my little, lost star. My son, lost in space."

The room went deathly still.

Eun Ha's breath hitched in her throat. She froze, the tissue halfway to her nose.

On the screen, Kael didn't recoil. He didn't scream in horror. Instead, he dropped his weapon. He looked at her with a terrible, dawning understanding. His own hands came up to cover hers against his face.

"Ah, I... you... why..."

"You came all this way for me... thinking that I was someone I wasn't. I'm sorry. Are you disgusted, Kael? That the woman you—"

She was interrupted as Kael shook his head. There was some inner conflict there, but it all faded under the threatening tremors of the ship.

"It doesn't matter... I... I still…"

He trailed off.

The camera zoomed in. The Empress, after a brief moment of hesitation, leaned in.

She actually fucking leaned in!

Eun Ha was gobsmacked.

Jae-il's head, previously relaxed against the back of the chair, slowly straightened. His casual, teasing posture vanished, replaced by a rigid stillness.

"No..." Eun Ha breathed, her voice a mere thread of sound. Her mind struggled to process the scene. What was this? "No, they can't... they wouldn't… they shouldn't…"

They're mother and son! Something like this...

Her words, of course, couldn't possibly alter a predetermined outcome. The characters were about to commit the most sinful of deeds. And Eun Ha didn't dare blink even once as they inched closer and closer, their lips taking up most of the screen.

The screen shook with each explosion, yet none of that stopped what was about to happen.

She felt the mattress shift. Jae-il had stood up. The laptop was abruptly shut, just as Kael and The Empress were about to—

"That's enough movie for one night."

"......"

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